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VanessaandKobe Bryantremain one of basketball's greatest love stories.
The late NBA legend, whodied at age 41in a January 2020 helicopter crash, married his one true love Vanessa Bryant (née Laine) in 2001, two years after they first met. They went on to have fourdaughters: Natalia, born in 2003, Bianka, born in 2016, Capri, born in 2019, and Gianna, who tragically died with her father in the crash.
"Dear Kobe, thank you for being the best husband and father you can possibly be," Vanessa said while accepting her late husband's induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "Thank you for loving me enough to last lifetimes, and every lifetime I choose you."
On Nov. 18, 2025, Vanessa releasedMamba & Mambacita Forever, a book of over a hundred murals honoring Kobe and Gianna.
"Taken together, what emerges is the story of a man who became even more than he himself could have imagined, an avatar of determination, discipline, and competitiveness," reads the synopsis of the photobook.
WithMamba & Mambacita Foreverout now, look back at Vanessa and Kobe'srelationshipthrough the years in photos.
Love at First Sight
Kobe first met Vanessa Urbieta Cornejo Laine on the set of a music video in 1999, when he was 20 and she was just 17 and still in high school.
"She'd bring pictures of Kobe to school and we'd be like, 'Ohmigod,' " Vanessa's classmate Monica Squadrilli toldtheLos Angeles Timesin 2005.
She Said Yes
After a sweet first date at Disneyland, the two became inseparable. They got engaged when Vanessa turned 18, and then married on April 18, 2001.
Put a Ring on It
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Vanessa (wearing her major engagement ring!) supported her fiancé at his Kobe Bowl charity benefit in L.A. in 2000.
Oh Baby!
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Kobe's parents initially did not support the relationship and did not attend the wedding. But after the newlyweds welcomed their first daughter,Natalia, on Jan. 19, 2003, the new arrival helped mend the relationship between Kobe and his parents.
Tough Times
In 2003, Bryant pled not guilty to felony sexual assaultafter a 19-year-old employee of a Vail-area resort accused him of rape, PEOPLE reported at the time. Criminal charges against the athlete were eventually dropped, and a civil case brought against Bryant was settled out of court. Vanessa remained supportive of her husband throughout the trial.
During an episode of Showtime Basketball'sAll the Smoke, the five-time NBA champ opened up aboutrebuilding his relationship after the scandal.
"Commitment and [the] competitiveness of 'We're going to succeed,' " was crucial, Bryant said.
He added that it also required solidarity between the couple when it came to working through thosedifficult moments.
"That's all the beauty of it: having the persistence and determination to work through things — very, very tough things — and we've been able to do that," he said of himself and Vanessa.
Girl Dad
In the following years, the couple (seen here on Halloween 2019) welcomed three more children: Gianna in 2006, Bianka in 2016 and Capri in 2019.Bryant was a doting dad to all his daughters. "Guys keep teasing me," the Lakers star once toldExtra. "My friends say, 'It takes a real man to make a boy.' I'm like, 'Dude, it takes a king to make a princess.' "
Wild Ride
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Even with their full house, Kobe and Vanessa managed to find quality husband-and-wife time, enjoying a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif. in 2009.
Big Moments
Following his20-year career in the NBA, Kobe's entire family came out to support him when he retired from basketball in 2016.
Got That Glow
With extra free time on his hands, Kobe embarked on his new chapter by spending more time with his loved ones.
"Just finished celebrating my 20 year career. It's a blessing to now celebrate 15 years of marriage today! I love you mama per sempre #15yranniversary," hewroteof his wife on Instagram in 2016.
Special Day
Vanessa and the girls were also by Kobe's side when the Los Angeles City Council honored him by creatingKobe Bryant Day, which takes place on Aug. 24 (a.k.a. 8/24, the two jersey numbers the star wore throughout his Lakers career).
Just Deserts
The sweethearts celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary in 2017 in Sedona, Arizona.
In Louvre
On a family vacation to Paris, the couple took a silly selfie in front of the Mona Lisa.
On the 'Up' and Up
The couple, big Disney fans, took a photo with the mailbox with the names of the soulmate couple from Disney'sUp.
Four for Film
Gianna and Natalia accompanied their parents to the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where Kobe spoke about his animated shortDear Basketball, a film he wrote and narrated about his retirement from the league.
Oscar-Winning Smiles
At the 2018Academy Awards, Vanessa was by her husband's side as hewon his first Oscar in 2018forDear Basketball, making him the first professional athlete to win the award.
Plus-One
Emma McIntyre /VF19/WireImage
At the 2019Vanity FairOscars afterparty, the happy couple showed off Vanessa's baby bump ahead of their fourth daughter Capri's birth in June.
Happiest Place on Earth
Kobe took Vanessa back to Disneylandon the same day they went on their first date two decades prior, Nov. 28, 2019.
In Memory
Kobe's final Instagram post of the two of them was thisstunning portraitthey took atBeyoncéandJay-Z's New Year's Eve party in the final hours of 2019.
Months later, the world was shocked byhis sudden deathfollowing a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26, 2020.
Kobe died,along with his 13-year-old daughter Giannaand seven others, while traveling in his private helicopter en route to Gianna's basketball game.
Family Forever
Four days after the crash,Vanessa posted a moving tributeto her husband and daughter on Instagram, thanking fans for the outpouring of support during the family's "horrific time."
"We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe - the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna - a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri," Vanessa wrote alongside a family photo.
"There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon."
She continued, "I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless - and that's to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever."
Keeping His Legacy Alive
Vanessa Bryant/Instagram
Since Kobe and Gianna's deaths, Vanessa has devoted herself to honoring their lives and Kobe's legacy. She took over the NBA star's multimedia company Granity Studios to see the completion of unfinished projects, and she relaunched his nonprofit as theMamba and Mambacita Foundationin homage to her late husband and daughter.
Vanessa and the Lakers also unveiled two memorial statues of Kobe — one with Gianna — for display outside of the team's home arena in Los Angeles.
"Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going," Vanessa told PEOPLE in March 2021. "They inspire me to try harder and be better every day. Their love is unconditional and they motivate me in so many different ways."
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